Treading Dark Waters
by TheCookieMonster77
Summary: It was Adrien's nets that caught the mermaid, yet he's the one ensnared. [[love square mermaid/pirate AU]]


**Title:** Treading Dark Waters

 **Summary** **:** It was Adrien's nets that caught the mermaid, yet he's the one ensnared.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.**

* * *

Adrien can't stop staring.

The crew's excited muttering blends with the gentle swooshes of the waves, mellowing into a dull buzz in his ears. Adrien scrapes just enough sense together to pick his jaw off the deck, though it doesn't really save face since he can't stop his eyes from bugging out as he gapes at the mermaid hanging over his deck.

She's devastatingly beautiful in the way the ocean is during a storm. She has a wildness in her, from the way her golden pink tail still struggles against the netting to the way her fingers flex into claws as though she's itching to tear them all apart. Her sharp eyes dart from crew member to crew member, cold and calculating under her pinched brow. They're brief, dismissive looks until her eyes finally land on him and she bares her sharp teeth with a fierce _hiss_.

Everyone jumps back, their quiet chatter abruptly dying. Not even the waves can break the terrified silence. The mermaid's eyes never leave Adrien, flashing dangerously in the early dawn light, and he suddenly feels like a lamb before a lion.

 _Don't be ridiculous_ , he scolds mentally. _**She's**_ _the one in the net._

Her lips draw further back and her razor sharp white teeth gleam in the sunlight.

Adrien gulps and takes half a step back before he can stop himself.

"Adrien."

Adrien jolts with a hiss and his head snaps around to come face to face with his best friend, Nino. "Jesus," Adrien mutters, barely resisting the urge to rub his chest as his heart restarts. "Don't _do_ that Nino, you just scared off six years of my life."

Adrien waits for Nino's customary snort and eye roll, but it never comes. His usually jolly face is stony as he stares at the caught mermaid, eyebrows drawn low and his lips downturned. He steps closer, eyes briefly flicking towards the crew and then back to the mermaid. "Adrien," he murmurs, just loud enough for Adrien to hear over the water, "what are we going to _do?_ "

Adrien looks back at the mermaid, heart thudding painfully when he meets her eyes dead on. Her tail twitches, scales flashing gold in the sunlight. Her fingers curl through the netting and she leans forward as though she were about to pounce. Adrien twitches on his heels and the mermaid smiles, cold and calculating and _predatory_. She suddenly lunges, stitches in the netting ripping as she swings forward. The net holds and she only sways gracelessly over the wooden boards, but the entire crew jumps back still.

She laughs, sounding like waves crashing against rocky shores.

" _Adrien_ ," Nino hisses, eyes wide and a hand pressed over his chest.

"It's fine, I got it," Adrien mutters reassuringly, though it sounds more like he's trying to convince himself instead of Nino. Probably because he can't quite draw in enough air, his breath coming out in short white puffs that blends in with the morning mist, and he can feel the panic brimming in the back of his mind.

Nino laughs humorlessly. "We only have a child of the sea trapped on our boat," he says in a panicked voice, words slurring together. "We keep her, we risk the ocean's wrath. We release her, she rips us to shreds. Absolutely _nothing_ that can wrong wi-"

" _Nino_."

Nino sucks in a breath, chest heaving. His wide eyes meet Adrien's and the two terrified friends gape at each other, equally clueless. He scrambles to think of something, _anything_ to get them out of this conundrum, but his mind is just a frantic reel of _we're doomed_ and screaming.

A harsh laugh cuts through Nino's and Adrien's staring contest. Adrien snaps his head around to face the mermaid. Her tail twitches when he meets her eyes, wriggling and yanking at the net like she's still trying to jump at him. The mermaid is still smiling, wide and wild. Despite being trapped in his net, she's smug. And as he eyes the net digging into her claw-like fingers, he knows _she_ is not the prey here.

"Y-you," the mermaid says slowly, carefully shaping unfamiliar words, "should listen to your friend."

Nino's breath hitches loudly and Adrien's jaw drops.

 _That...is some impressive hearing._

The mermaid's grin turns sly. "He is right. Keep me and the Great Mother will writhe in Her wrath and smash your ship to pieces." Her face twists in a snarl and her fingers rip at the net. "Assuming you survive my siblings first, that is."

His crew shrinks back but Adrien can't help stepping forward, a million questions buzzing on his tongue. But, the question that comes forth first is not his own.

"Why should we be scared of you?!"

Adrien snaps his head over his shoulder and sees Kim, his brilliant helmsman with the unfortunate disposition of a mouth than runs faster than his brain. Kim's eyes are wide and darting between the mermaid and the ocean, his chest heaving and his feet fidgeting.

"Kim," Nino growls warningly.

Kim pulls himself up and glares at the mermaid with his fear blown eyes. "Why should we be?!" he insists frantically. "We can just kill her, maybe even make a pretty penny off that tail of-"

The mermaid's scream drowns out everything but Adrien's roar.

" _KIM!"_

Silence falls abruptly, its oppressiveness muting even the waves.

Adrien takes a deep breath, the salty air scratchy against his hoarse throat. Kim shrinks but doesn't back down, his terror making him defiant.

"I ought to let her claw out your throat," Adrien says quietly, voice hoarse and muted in his fury. His forearm itches, demanding his attention as the memories of searing pain and scouring smoke flood in. He takes another deep breath, the familiar smell of fresh fish and salt grounding him, and discreetly waves away Nino's concerned gaze. Adrien focuses back Kim, fury bubbling low in his gut.

The tall man's defiance is quickly draining away with the blood in his face. As sad as Adrien is that _he_ is causing Kim's discomfort, the white hot fury threatening to burst out of his chest takes vicious satisfaction in the way Kim looks as though he wants to sink through the deck.

"But Captain," Kim insists, "it's just a _fish-_ "

Adrien growls, wrapping his infamous Chat Noir persona around him like a cloak, and stares down the taller man. " _People_ ," he stresses, a snarl curling his mouth, "are not _things_ to be _sold_."

Kim snaps his mouth shut, defiance fully disappearing in the face of Adrien's stone-faced authority. Adrien glares at him for another moment before glaring at the rest of his crew incase any others had similar ideas. Silence falls, the sailors looking as though they wished they were anywhere else but too afraid to move with their captain so uncharacteristically stern.

"...what?"

Adrien jumps at the hushed question, whirling around in his heels. He comes nose to nose with the mermaid and his breath catches in his throat. Distantly, his mind berates him for turning his back on such a deadly predator, much less moving within arm's length of her. His hand instinctively grips his sword pommel but the mermaid hasn't moved, merely staring down at him with a confused curl to her lips.

(Up close, her eyes look like a stormy sea, wild and dangerous and beautiful.)

She leans forward and Adrien feels like the ocean is bearing down on him under her scrutiny. Her breath smells like fish and blood and suddenly all Adrien can focus on are those razor sharp teeth nearing his neck.

"Not many... _humans_ ," the mermaid spits, "call me a people." Her lips purse and Adrien tears his eyes from them to meet her eyes again. Her head cocks to the side. "So why do you?"

Adrien frowns. "You speak and you feel and you dream, do you not?"

The mermaid's lips pucker thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose I do," she says, tone colored with surprise. Her voice is far more pleasant when she's not angry, more melodious and smooth.

 _Like the gentle waves that guide my ship,_ Adrien thinks.

Adrien edges closer, curiosity brimming. "Look, my crew caught you on accident." The mermaid's anger flashes back and disbelief washes across her face. Adrien holds his arms out beseechingly. "I'm sorry it happened, honest!"

Her eyebrow arches. "Honesty from a _human?_ "

"Yes." Adrien takes a deep breath and sweeps his arm out towards the water. "If we let you go-"

Her tail jerks, more strings in the net snapping and displeasure twisting her face into a snarl.

" _When_ we let you go," Adrien hastily corrects, "may you please spare us?"

"Why should I?" the mermaid demands, tone colder than the northern ice.

Adrien shoves down his sigh, ears buzzing as his crew begins to protest behind him. Nino's harsh barks keeps chaos from erupting but just barely, and Adrien scrambles for an answer.

"I- I don't know," he says softly, his crew's scared anger swelling around him. "I can only beg you to forgive me and my crew's mistake."

The mermaid stares at him for a long minute. Adrien stares up at her beseechingly. " _Please._ "

Her stormy eyes are narrowed, and Adrien feels like she can see into his very soul. He holds her gaze, even as his insecurity wells and screams over the panic racing through his mind.

 _Is my word- Am_ _ **I**_ _good enough for you?_

"Fine," she finally says. She cocks her head to the side and stares at him thoughtfully. "You are a very different people than most…"

"Captain Chat Noir, my lady," Adrien says with an elegant bow. "But, my friends call me Adrien."

Her eyebrows disappear in her hairline. "We are friends?"

Adrien heart squeezes painfully. "I would certainly like to be."

The mermaid stares at him incredulously. Adrien carefully ignores it and beckons to Nino to help him lower her to the water. Adrien's crew shuffles nervously behind him but he ignores it, hopping up on the banister to help guide the crane as Nino cranks it over. The mermaid jolts in surprise but soon twists around, twitching and tugging the net in anticipation.

Adrien steadies the beam and stares down at the mermaid. She's all restless energy and longing looks, and all Adrien can think is about how wrong she looks trapped in a net.

"What do I call you?"

The mermaid startles, head snapping back towards him as though she forgot he was there. She tugs at the net, tail smacking against the knots. "What?"

"Your name. What do I call you?"

She frowns, impatience knitting her brow and tail twitching in agitation. "You could not pronounce my name, humans do not speak my language." Her eyes fall back to the ocean, her entire body twitching in restlessness as she stares longingly at the water. "What does it matter?"

Adrien frowns at her. He draws his sword and sets the blade against the rope, but his curiosity stays his hand. "What if we meet again?"

She laughs, head bowing before she turns her attention back on him. "Pray that never happens, Chat Noir. The waters humans travel are where the bloated pods stake their territories." Her lips curl into a grimace, a half snarl at nothing. "They do not have enough fish so they feed on humans," her expression darkens. "Nor do they fear forcing the Great Mother's will."

Adrien frowns at her, more questions brimming in his mind. But before he can ask, the mermaid warns, "Consider this free advice from me to you: Stay off those currents. Nothing good comes from tangling with heathens."

Adrien opens his mouth but the mermaid cuts him off. "Now cut me loose!"

Adrien swallows his questions and draws back his sword. Pauses.

"May-"

The mermaid twists in agitation. "Adrien!"

His lips twitch and his blade gleams as it swings. With a loud _snap_ of rope and a flash of her scales, the mermaid disappears into the ocean's deep blue depths.

A long moment of silence passes before Nino shouts for everyone to get back to work. Adrien ignores his crew shuffling to their stations, their quiet conversations melting into a background buzz, and jumps down. He keeps his back to the crew though and faces the open seas, propping his arms up on the banister as the mermaid's final warning rings in his ears.

Nino comes to stand by his side. He doesn't speak, thankfully, merely waits for Adrien to finish gathering his wits.

Adrien's eyes are sore from staring at the gleaming water before he finally sighs and nudges Nino's shoulder. "Quite the morning, no?"

Nino snorts. "That's one way of putting it. Let's just hope we aren't cursed for it."

Adrien just hums and watches the last of the morning mist vanish from the horizon under the sun's harsh rays. Nino's left leg twitches the way it always does when he has a question so Adrien waits, counting his breaths.

It's on the eleventh that Nino finally cracks. "So...her advice."

 _Ah._

"Advice from a mermaid, a rare gift indeed," Adrien muses, lips curling up. "We should probably follow it."

Nino nods. "It'd be bad luck not to."

Adrien hums again. The two pirates stare out at the calm waters, the distant yellows and oranges and pinks slowly melting into deep blues and bright turquoises as the sun rises. A friendly breeze picks up and their ship's white sails billow, the crews shouts and workings blending together as they prepared for another day. Adrien listens idly, catching bits and pieces of conversations over the waves. His eyes glaze over as he thinks over the mermaid's advice again, absentmindedly scratching his right wrist as it begins to itch.

Nino grunts softly. "So why'd you ask her for her name?"

Adrien pauses, fingers clamping down. He smiles grimly as he thinks about his father's fleet of... _cargo_ ships, precious jewels and bright silks and _slaves_ all stored within their hulls. His fingers trace the white scar tissue hidden underneath his sleeve, instinctively trailing the leg of the _P_ down to the black butterfly tattoo marking his wrist.

"Adrien?"

Adrien huffs a laugh, bitter and humorless. "We still have an empire to take down," he says softly, eyes still trained on the ocean. "We can't do that and follow her advice at the same time." He eyes dart to Nino, grim humor curling his lips. "And it'd be terrible manners for me not to greet her by a name when we inevitably meet again."

Nino snorts and rolls his eyes. "A gentleman to the end." His nose wrinkles. "Gentleman pirate. What a conundrum."

Adrien grins. "Of course. Limiting myself to one would just be boring."

Nino chuckles and shakes his head. The two fall back into an easy silence, which is soon broken by a shout.

"Captain!"

Both Nino and Adrien turn to squint up at Alix in the lookout post.

She uses one hand to cup her mouth and the other juts out in front of her. "Trading ship dead ahead!"

Adrien and Nino spare a look at each other and then rush to the quarter deck, the crew scurrying out of their way. Adrien and Nino clamber up the steps to join Kim at the wheel. The helmsman flinches when Adrien passes him, but Adrien spares it no mind as he frantically pats down his pockets. He huffs in frustration when he realizes that in his haste that morning, he had forgotten his spyglass in his room.

Nino already has his pressed to his eye, lips turning down in a deep frown. Adrien squints at the ship on the horizon, eyes carefully tracing its wide hull and tall masts up to a flag he can't see.

"Nino?"

Nino lowers his spyglass, eyes hard. His spyglass snaps shut with a loud _click_. "I'd recognize that flag anywhere."

Adrien steels himself. "Right then. Sound the orders?"

Nino nods and shouts, "To your stations!" The ship erupts into a commotion of noise and clamor, heavy cannons scraping against the wooden decks and rifles cocking. They sway as Kim steers the ship into the other's path and swords flash before Adrien's eyes as the crew prepares the ropes.

Adrien tries not to think about his heart climbing up his throat.

 _I wonder if Father's on that ship_ …

A hand on his shoulder yanks him back to reality. He blinks over at Nino, his friend as supportive and sympathetic as always.

Nino opens his mouth but no words come out. He shakes his head slightly and instead leads with, "We didn't even try to follow her advice for an hour." Nino smiles ruefully. "We're doomed, my friend."

Adrien can't hold back his laugh as it bursts out of him. "Worse luck to say that," he retorts, amusement flickering as Nino groans. There's a flash that catches his eye, a bright glimmer in the little patch of ocean he can see under Nino's ear. He smiles. "Actually my friend, I think we're in luck."

Adrien's eyes dart to his father's ship looming closer. He catches the same flash again further ahead, his smile growing.

"Oh _really?_ "

He beams at Nino's skeptic face and winks. "I have a feeling the ocean's on our side."

* * *

 **AN:** Heads up for this fic- it's currently staying as an one-shot for now. I want to finish my nano fic and my other ml mermaid AU before returning to this one. And seeing how I'm completely obsessed w mermaids, plus my roommate asking for a continuation, I do think I'd like to return to this fic eventually. Until then, reviews any asks about my original mermaid hcs are v much encouraged! (I have... _so many_ mermaid hcs pls come ask me things about them) (or even this fic in general lol)

Thanks for reading, pls don't forget to review!

 _77-cookies . tumblr . com_


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